Irena Kedmenec

Are some cultures more favourable for social entrepreneurship than others

Abstract The goal of this paper is to examine whether certain national cultural dimensions facilitate or hamper social entrepreneurship. The paper offers a conceptualisation of the possible associations between Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and social entrepreneurial activity as defined by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, along with its empirical testing across more than 40 countries around the world. Based on correlation analysis that was controlled for the countries’ level of economic development, there appears to be a negative association between the national power distance level and social entrepreneurial activity. In addition, the rate of young social entrepreneurial ventures is associated with lower levels of masculinity. The cultural dimensions of individualism and uncertainty avoidance have no direct linear association with social entrepreneurial activities of any kind. In factor-driven economies, lower levels of masculinity appear to support the development of social entrepreneurship. On the other hand, in innovation-driven economies, social entrepreneurial ventures emerge more often in those cultures characterised by short-term orientation and indulgence.

Effect of Rurality and Human Capital Resources in the Entrepreneurial Opportunity Identification Process / Vpliv ruralnega okolja in človeškega kapitala v procesu zaznavanja podjetniških priložnosti

Abstract In this paper, that is a country study of Slovenia, we tried to determine why individuals in rural residential areas are less likely to recognize entrepreneurial opportunities. Our results show that the increase in resources in human capital, consisting of education, skills, knowledge, and experiences in entrepreneurship, has a significant and positive effect on opportunity identification. For policy creators, our results suggest that policies focused on entrepreneurial education- especially education that would enable the acquisition of real-life entrepreneurial experiences and skills-are useful, especially in rural areas. Izvleček V prispevku, v katerem je predstavljena študija na primeru Slovenije, smo želeli odgovoriti na vprašanje, zakaj posamezniki iz ruralnih okolij v svojem okolju manj pogosto razpoznavajo poslovne priložnosti. Naši podatki kažejo, da ima povečanje virov človeškega kapitala, sestavljenega iz izobrazbe, znanja, izkušenj in sposobnosti za podjetništvo, pomemben in pozitiven vpliv na identificiranje poslovnih priložnosti. Za oblikovalce ukrepov ekonomske politike so naši rezultati pomembni, saj nakazujejo, da so politike, usmerjene v podjetniško izobraževanje (predvsem tisto, ki vključuje pridobivanje izkušenj in veščin v realnem podjetniškem okolju), koristne, in to predvsem na ruralnih območjih.

Gender differences in the usage of resources in the entrepreneurial opportunity identification process in Slovenia and Croatia

While entrepreneurship research is usually focused on early-stage or established entrepreneurship, in this article we are taking a step back to earlier stages in the entrepreneurial process and focus on the opportunity identification and resources that might support it. The article provides a clearer insight into the extent of resources possessed by adults in Slovenia and Croatia, into gender differences in the opportunity identification process and the usage of resources within this process. Our research shows that women possess on average lower levels of resources, which explain their lower opportunity identification prevalence. Results show that the increase in resources, especially in the area of human capital consisting of skills, knowledge and experiences for entrepreneurship, has a significant and positive effect on opportunity identification among women.